National Sports

The Latest: Brighton to have cardboard cutouts of fans

by Associated Press

The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:

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English soccer club Brighton is offering fans the chance to have cardboard cutouts of themselves in the stadium when the Premier League resumes.

Games in the league will be closed to spectators for the remainder of the season because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Five of Brighton’s nine remaining games are at home. The first is on June 20 against Arsenal.

Fans need to send in a photo wearing a Brighton jersey and pay $25.

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Italy’s female soccer players are against the possibility of a playoff format

The Latest: Dortmund players fined for breaking restrictions

by Associated Press

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Borussia Dortmund players Jadon Sancho and Manuel Akanji have been fined by the German soccer league for breaking coronavirus-related restrictions to get haircuts.

The league says Sancho and Akanji “apparently violated general hygiene and infection protection standards” to have a barber visit them at home. There were no facemasks visible in photos posted on social media.

There were similar photos of Dortmund teammates Dan-Axel Zagadou and Raphäel Guerreiro with Düsseldorf-based barber Winnie Nana Karkari

The Latest: Valencia player says match may have spread virus

by Associated Press

The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:

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Valencia striker Rodrigo says the return match against Atalanta in the Champions League “perhaps shouldn’t have been played” because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Rodrigo’s comments to Spanish television channel TVE come after the top health official in the Valencia region said Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini “lacked responsibility” for traveling to Spain with symptoms of the virus. He recently told Italian media he felt sick the day before the March 10 match in Valencia.

Rodrigo says “this is in the

The Latest: Premier League clubs agree to use 5 subs

by Associated Press

The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:

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Premier League clubs have agreed to allow five substitutions in soccer matches.

They will adopt the temporary law change when the league resumes on June 17 amid the coronavirus pandemic.

There can still only be three pauses to bring on substitutes.

Premier League clubs have also agreed to temporarily increase the number of substitute players from seven to nine.

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The Italian soccer federation is launching a fund of nearly $25 million to help clubs and their members following the crisis caused by the

The Latest: 1 positive in latest Premier League testing

by Associated Press

The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:

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The Premier League says one person was found to have the coronavirus after the fifth round of testing of players and staff at soccer clubs.

The league did not identity the person.

Testing is taking place ahead of the planned resumption of the league on June 17. The competition was suspended in March.

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The PGA Tour has announced a deal with Sanford Health to conduct COVID-19 testing of players, caddies and essential personnel five days before the season resumes. That applies to every stop on the PGA

The Latest: Health official says coach lacked responsibility

by Associated Press

The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:

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The top health official in the Valencia region says Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini was irresponsible for traveling to Spain for a Champions League match with symptoms of the coronavirus.

Ana Barceló says Gasperini “lacked responsibility” and “shouldn’t have made the trip” from a high-risk area knowing that he had COVID-19 symptoms.

The 62-year-old Gasperini told Italian media he started feeling sick on March 9. That was a day before Atalanta played at Valencia in the second leg of the round of 16.

The Latest: $300K in grants offered in wheelchair tennis

by Associated Press

The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:

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The International Tennis Federation and four Grand Slam tournaments are pledging more than $300,000 in financial support for wheelchair athletes and national event hosts affected financially by the coronavirus pandemic.

Wheelchair tennis players who earned under $100,000 in prize money last year and meet certain ranking requirements can apply for a grant under the program.

The wheelchair tennis tour has been suspended since March and at least until the end of July because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

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The Latest: 16 Vasco da Gama players test positive for virus

by Associated Press

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Brazilian soccer club Vasco da Gama says 16 of its players have tested positive for the coronavirus.

The Rio de Janeiro club says the positive results came after tests were conducted on about 250 people.

Three players have already recovered and the others remain separated from the group.

The club says it will begin a series of medical evaluations on squad members.

Atlético Mineiro and Cruzeiro said Sunday one player in each squad tested positive. Atlético said Ecuadorean midfielder Juan Cazares had the

The Latest: Renault staying in Formula 1 despite job cuts

by Associated Press

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French car manufacturer Renault says it is staying in Formula One despite planning a large number of job cuts.

Renault general director Clotilde Delbos made the announcement in a telephone conference call.

Renault plans to cut 15,000 jobs as part of its financial restructuring but Delbos said the company’s presence in F1 will not be affected.

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The Swiss soccer league will restart on June 20 in empty stadiums.

The league says the 20 clubs in the top two divisions have voted 17-2 in favor of resuming.

The Latest: Dates for FA Cup semifinals pushed back

by Associated Press

The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:

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The dates for the FA Cup semifinals have been changed to July 18-19.

The Football Association originally announced dates of July 11-12 but a short time later decided to push them back.

The FA Cup final is set for Aug. 1.

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The Japanese soccer league will resume on July 4 in empty stadiums.

J-League chairman Mitsuru Murai made the announcement in a online news conference.

The J-League suspended play on Feb. 26 because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Both soccer and baseball were able begin play after